Page 2 - The Jewish Voice - January '22

Page 2, The Jewish Voice

From the rabbis

You Are Never, Ever Stuck — eclectic palate as much as to heal his hurting heart. It was sometimes it’s in this world and sometimes in the next
The purpose of the gift wasn’t to nourish Yaakov’s
world. Everything will be good in the end; if it’s not good,
Your Story Ends in Victory! sent to lift his broken spirit and to provide hope and promise it’s not the end! And we too will be able to toast “L’Chaim”
to a father who had been mourning his favorite son for 22 joyously when it’s all over!
Whatever you face, remind years, compounded by the realization that it was his own Joseph doesn’t just accept his suffering; he sees its
yourself that you can handle sons who had been the cause of all of his grief. This gift ultimate meaning and purpose. He actually tells his brothers
it; you’ve been designed for was not a gift of food, but of consolation! that they are not to blame for selling him because it was all
this! The aged wine was clearly not purchased recently. It had part of G-d’s master plan — to break us into little pieces so
in fact been purchased on the very first day that Joseph was that we could become something much greater!
By Rabbi Dovid Vigler able to buy it upon his arrival to the land as a slave. The When a group of New York women attended a Ladies
Do you ever feel stuck? bottle represented his conviction that all of his suffering Convention in Detroit, they planned their trip to return home
So many people feel stuck was only short lived and that he would eventually toast early Friday morning so as to be able to spend Shabbos
in a relationship, a financial “L’chaim” when it was all over. With every fiber of his with their families. They were deeply concerned to learn
rut, or a dead end. It’s an being, Joseph believed that his pain was only temporary of a snowstorm that shut down the Detroit airport, severely
unpleasant place to be. But and that he would ultimately land on his feet. This was the delaying their flight and making it impossible for them to
the Torah assures us that we drink of hope and promise. be back with their families in time.
are never stuck. As much as it might look like it and you The crushed beans, too, were a physical representation Out of desperation, Mrs. Miriam Popack called the
(and your mother-in-law) convince yourself so, if you look of the benefit that comes after agony. It’s no fun being Rebbe’s office for a blessing. When she explained the
deeper, you’ll find the light! beaten, but beans taste better when cooked in pieces rather problem to the Rebbe’s secretary, Rabbi Binyamin Klein,
A perfect example is in the Torah portion Vayigash: than whole. He was telling his dad that he was now able she said that they were “stuck at the airport.” He put her
Joseph, Prime Minister of Egypt, reunites with his family to see the benefit of being crushed like beans: Though on hold for a minute and then came back on the line saying
after 22 years of estrangement. As he reveals himself to his they had both suffered so much over the decades of their that “the Rebbe doesn’t understand what ‘stuck’ means?”
long-lost brothers, Joseph sends a bizarre gift to his father, separation, ultimately it was for a greater good. Had he not As she proceeded to elaborate, Klein stopped her and
Jacob, in Israel: aged Egyptian wine and ground beans. been mercilessly sold by his brothers as a slave to Egypt, explained that the Rebbe speaks perfect English! “He
It’s not exactly my idea of a spectacular gift from the he would never have risen to become the brilliant prime doesn’t understand how you can be stuck because a Jew is
monarch of the world’s superpower. Had he put some thought minister that was able to feed not just his family but the never stuck! If you are in the Detroit airport it’s because
into it, Joseph might have chosen to send his dad some nachas known world, saving them from the great famine of the there’s something you need to do there!”
that he could appreciate — pictures of the grandchildren or time. The ladies got the message! They immediately sprang
evidence of their achievements. His odd choice leaves us Joseph serves as a striking role model for us all never into action and began sharing Shabbos candles with all the
scratching our heads in wonder. to get stuck. Hashem is the Master of the Universe — He Jewish ladies in the terminal. Years later, some of the women
It was on this Shabbos in 1972 that the Rebbe explained is always in full control and He always has a plan. they met that day still light the Shabbos candles!
the mystery of Joseph’s gift and exposed it as profoundly Hebrew, the Holy Tongue, doesn’t even have a word for G-d doesn’t send us problems, just opportunities. He
inspiring and deeply moving: “tragedy.” While the Greeks have made an entire genre out loves us and will never, ever abandon us, not even for a
of pathetic stories that end with sadness, Jews don’t even moment! He never wants to hurt us, just to lift us higher.
know the meaning of the word! Don’t beat yourself up; you’re not a finished product,
Hashem is our beloved Father in Heaven, and everything you’re just a work in progress. You’re not stuck; you just
He does is good. Just like a child has a hard time processing haven’t decided to move forward yet!
e e e struggle to comprehend the ways of our Father in Heaven. the momentum!
his father’s harsh discipline until much, much later, we too
Wishing you a month of seizing the moment and creating

Rabbi Dovid Vigler is spiritual leader at Chabad of Palm
But we do know that it’s all the work of our loving Father
Sometimes we see the light sooner and sometimes later;
in Heaven who’s always in control! Beach Gardens and host of the Jewish Schmooze Radio Show.
Email him at rabbi@jewishgardens.com.
e
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